Preview Documentary – “Damilola: Death Of A 10 Year Old”

Preview Documentary - "Damilola: Death Of A 10 Year Old"

I think vaguely remember hearing about this case when it happened back in 2000;

The story of Damilola Taylor, the 10-year old Nigerian boy who bled to death in a stairwell on a South London property, after being chased down, cornered and stabbed with a broken bottle, on his way home from school, by armed school bullies, just a few months after arriving in Britain from Nigeria.

Initially, several young boys were cleared of murder charges after a lengthy trial; and 6 years later, after a few trials, including retrials, after new evidence was uncovered, two brothers were convicted for manslaughter.

In the feature documentary, Damilola: Death of a 10 year old, former Metropolitan Police Officer Rav Wilding, who worked on the investigation into Damilola’s death retraces the tragic story, and uncovers lessons learned from the investigation and subsequent trials.

Why did they kill him? Damilola was frequently bullied and beaten up by his classmates, something which he complained to his mother about. She stated: “They were calling him names and saying things like ‘fuck your mother’. He asked me, ‘Mummy, what is the meaning of gay?’ These boys were calling him gay and I said, ‘Do not listen to them’. I said, ‘Go and report it to the school teacher’, and when he came home he said he reported it but the teacher did not know who was telling the truth.“

He died a rather lonely, cruel death in the grimy stairwell of what was described as a run-down council estate, just 10 days before his 11th birthday.

Danny and Ricky Preddy were convicted of the crime, though both are now free.

Watch the preview of the documentary below, which will screen next month at the Black Urban Film Festival in London: